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Sewage leak at Arden Arcade apartment complex still not fixed several months later

Residents told ABC10 they've voiced their concerns to property management numerous times but still haven't seen a permanent fix.

ARDEN-ARCADE, Calif. — Residents living at the Carla Apartment complex have been facing a constant lake of raw sewage in the parking lot for several months.

"The sewer drainage over by the front of my apartment unit has been clogged or the pipeline is broken," said Madison Stakley, who's lived at the Arden Arcade complex for four years. 

Stakley says that's what's causing the sewage to flood the parking lot time and time again since April, even though septic trucks are there on a regular basis trying to unclog the drains. The situation has made it nearly impossible to open windows for several months, and at times, extremely difficult for residents to walk to their cars. 

"It's gross. Every time you walk out, you smell it, no matter what time of day it is," she said. "You see human feces, toilet paper, anything you put in the toilet, we have seen come up through the drain." 

This week's heavy rain led to another major backup Monday night. 

"It flooded the whole parking lot. My car was covered, and it was too close to our door so I was scared that it would flood the apartment," Stakley said. 

Residents told ABC10 they've voiced their concerns to property management numerous times but still haven't seen a permanent fix. 

"It's gross, you can get sick," Stakley said. "There were little kids last night playing in the water as if it wasn't sewer water. They're like swimming in it." 

Stakley decided to take her complaints to Sacramento County. ABC10 reached out and the Sacramento Area Sewer District said they responded to the Carla Apartments on July 29 and began investigating. 

"The investigation determined that SacSewer's pipes were clear. This means the overflow was caused by a problem in the privately owned portion of the system, which is the responsibility of the property owner to correct," they said in a statement. 

Sacramento County said in their statement, "Unfortunately, the sump pump part which is needed to fix the problem, took three weeks to order, and an electrician made a mistake installing it, and the part burnt out. The property owner and manager re-ordered the part and are waiting for its arrival."

ABC10 also reached out to Trion, the private equity real estate firm which owns the Carla Apartments. They have not yet returned our requests for a comment. 

"We want to move out, but we want to be compensated as well because this isn't our fault," said Stakley. 

Sacramento County Code Enforcement said they're working with management about the possibility of relocating several tenants until the needed part comes in and the issue has been resolved.

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